With the increase of gambling at gaming venues has come increased competition between gaming venues to obtain a larger share of the total gambling spend. Gaming venue operators have therefore continuously looked for new variations and types of games in order to attract both new and return customers to their venues.
In response to this need, suppliers of gaming devices and systems have attempted to provide the sought after variety, while still developing games that comply with the relevant regulations in the jurisdiction of the gaming venue operator. Suppliers of gaming devices therefore are faced with restrictions on the types of games and gaming apparatus that are allowable, both in terms of the prevailing regulations and in terms of providing a return on investment to the gaming venue operators.
In addition, it is important that a player be able to understand the operation of a game quickly so that the player can start to quickly play the game and therefore extract maximum entertainment from the game.
Known gaming systems which include linked progressive jackpots typically fall within two categories. A first category includes systems in which the award of jackpots are triggered by a stand alone jackpot controller. In such systems the jackpot controller is also configured to maintain jackpot prize values and increment them in accordance with contribution data transmitted to it from linked gaming machines. In such systems the jackpot controller may also be configured to reseed the jackpot upon the jackpot being won.
In systems of a second type, the jackpot controller is configured to manage jackpot values by incrementing or decrementing the jackpots as necessary and awarding payouts in the event that a jackpot is won, but the jackpot controller may take no part in triggering the award of a jackpot. In such systems the award of a jackpot is triggered by a gaming machine, typically in response to a predetermined game outcome being achieved. Alternatively, the jackpot may be randomly triggered by a gaming machine independently of a game outcome.
In both of the above systems, game outcomes are determined by game controllers with the awards, in particular for basic games, being based on internal paytables.
In both types of system the connections between the jackpot controller and gaming machines are fixed and communication between them is limited to set of interactions defined by predetermined command protocols. The type of control that a gaming machine has over the award of a jackpot, and the nature of the interaction between a gaming machine and jackpot controller, is therefore predefined, and the design of a game and jackpot controller must be restricted to the predefined relationship.
These fixed forms of interoperation between jackpot controllers and gaming machines constrain game designers in their ability to design new games for players, as the fixed jackpot triggering and control mechanisms must be adhered to.
In addition to constraining game design these systems do not offer optimal jackpot or game performance. For example, since game data is not directly available to the jackpot controller delays in transmission of signals between a gaming machine and the jackpot controller, and delays in responses thereto, may be experienced. This can result in players becoming frustrated with the system or even being unaware of a jackpot that they have won if details of the jackpots are not communicated in a timely manner. In some instances, the actions of a jackpot and a gaming machine may be asynchronous with respect to one another. For instance, a display relating to a jackpot that has been won may appear while a player is playing a game subsequent to that in which the jackpot was won.
Any reference in this specification to the prior art does not constitute an admission that such prior art was well known or forms part of the common general knowledge in any jurisdiction